Illyrian Provinces

Illyrian Provinces was an autonomous province of the First French Empire, which existed under Napoleonic Rule.

HISTORY
In 1809, Napoleon Bonaparte invaded the region with his Grande Armée after key wins during the War of the Fifth Coalition forced the Austrian Empire to cede parts of its territory. Integrating the land into France was Bonaparte's way of controlling Austria's access to the Mediterranean and Adriatic Sea and expanding his empire east. Because Bonaparte installed four governors to disseminate French bureaucracy, culture, and language.